True Companions

Yeah! Anna and Nate are here!! We picked them up at the airport last night. It has been much too long since we have seen them. I love the holidays! I love that family comes and visits. It is my favorite part of the season. Also, we have no kids!!! The boys are in Minnesota with their dad and the girls are with Melissa. While we miss them (of course) it is quite enjoyable to not have the responsibilities. We can play at anytime of the night or day. We spent the whole day shopping. Since we are not celebrating Christmas until the boys return on Jan 1st, we are able to take advantage of the after Christmas sales to finish purchasing our presents. Yesterday we saw 2 movies. First we saw "National Treasure 2". It was awesome! Greg thought #1 was better since it had more clues and puzzles to figure out. But this one had more character development. It was very good. The next movie we saw was "I Am Legend". The previews show that it is about a man who survives something tha...

.: (You really should read this first!) :. We did our family Christmas pictures and they didn't turn out very well. First we were outside by some trees and those were a bust so then we just decided to come inside and do them by our own tree (even though I hadn't finished decorating it yet!). So these were the best:

The kids had their Winter Sing tonight through school. It was sooo good!! The kindergartners stole the show!! (and not because I worked with them for the last 3 weeks). They were soo cute. I will have pictures and will load them on when I download them onto the laptop. Danny and the kindergartners sang Rudolph, Silent Night, and Nuttin ' for Christmas. They were soo cute and did such a good job!! Hana and Hunter and the 2 nd graders sang Jingle Bells - Arizona Style ("dashing through the sand..."), We Give Thanks, Sixty Million Snowflakes, and Celebrating Hanukkah. Madison and the 4 th graders sang Chatter with the Angels, Go Tell It On The Mountain, A La Puerta Del Cielo , and Frosty Hand Jive. She was also supposed to join in the finale of The Manger Carol but her mother made them leave early (Madison was mad!!!). Regardless, it was a great show and I am very proud of all of our children!! Afterwards we went to the Mesa Arizona Temple to see the Temple ...

.: (You really should read this first!) Another email from Andrea. Here is my get to know you with four things. Four jobs I have had in my life 1. Waitress 2. Office Manager 3. Paralegal 4. Domestic Engineer Four movies I would watch over and over: 1. American President 2. Coyote Ugly 3. Where the Heart Is 4. Just Like Heaven Four places I have lived: 1. Florence, AZ 2. Anoka, MN 3. Houston, TX 4. Pueblo, CO Four TV shows that I watch: 1. LOST 2. America’s Next Top Model 3. Amazing Race 4. Did I say LOST? Four places I have been: 1. Mexico 2. Grand Caymen Island 3. California 4. Ozark Mountains Four People who e-mail me (regularly): 1. Greg 2. Emily 3. Amy 4. Andrea Four of my favorite foods: 1. Subway 2. White pizza from CiCi’s Pizza 3. Steak Fajitas 4. Salad Four places I would rather (or would love to) be right now: 1. On a cruise with Greg 2. On a desert island with Greg 3. With the kids at Disney World 4. Africa!!!! Four things I am looking forward to next year: 1. Hunter ...

I have to begin by pointing out that I have been doing soo well on my blogging lately! (I say that and than I will stop!) Hopefully not. Maybe I can start staying on top of the laundry too - but maybe that will be too much to ask!! :-) Well, we went to see Santa last night. Because this entire holiday season is out of sorts (again blaming the pregnancy) we ended up at Superstition Springs Mall. I am not a fan of mall Santas - unless we talk about the Mall of America Santa because he is the best Santa EVER!!!! But with the time constraints - now only having the girls on the weekends and the boys leaving on the 20th for Minnesota - we didn't have much choice. We ended up standing in line for almost an hour. We first had dinner at Taco Bell which left two of the children with tummy troubles and lead to a few trips to the bathroom while waiting. Right as we got to the beginning, Danny had an accident. Poor thing! But that would be why he is kneeling on the floor and didn't get to ...

Your Holiday Stress Level Is Low You take it easy over the holidays, and you only take on what you can handle.You know the holidays are about celebrating and fun - not standing in line at the mall! What's" Your Holiday Stress Level?

.: (You really should read this first!) :. Ok so I am really a sucker for these. (Which is probably why Amy continues to send them all to me). Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends. Okay,here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be a SCROOGE!!! Just copy this entire email and paste into a new e-mail that you can send. Change all the answers so that they apply to you. Then send this to a whole bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person that sent it to you......Tis the Season to be NICE! 1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper for Christmas…but I am a gift bag person otherwise. 2. Real tree or Artificial? I love the smell of the real trees but the needles all over the house dictate that my sanity can only handle an artificial one. 3. When do you put up the tree? Usually the night of Thanksgiving. I was a bit slower this year – but I chalk that up to the pregnancy!!! 4. When do you take the tree down? I can usually last until a day o...

1. What is your name? Gregory 2. 4 letter word: Good 3. Vehicle: Gondola 4. City: Grand Rapids, Georgetown, Glendale, Gilbert 5. Boy Name: Geoff 6. Girl Name: Gwen 7. Alcoholic drink: Gin, Grogg 8. Occupation: Geologist, Gemologist, Geneticist 9. Something you wear: Gold (bling, bling), Grass Skirt, Girdle 10. Celebrity: Gisele Bundchen, George Clooney, Gwen Stephani, Gemma Ward 11. Food: Grapes, Gravy, Grapefruit, Goose 12. Something found in a bathroom: Gel 13. Reason for Being Late: Gas, Gout, Great-big-accident 14. Cartoon Character: Green Lantern, Gary the Snail (from spongebob squarepants) 15. Something you shout: Great Scott! 16. Animal: Gorilla, 17. Body part: Groin 18. Word to describe you: Genius

I ran across this link for basic photo editing . It's specifically for photoshop elements, but is a good rule of thumb for editing in any software.

.: (You really should read this first!) :. I got this from a friend of mine and thought I would post it here. SCATTERGORIES...it's harder than it looks! Copy and paste into a new email. When you are done, send it on,including to the person who sent it to you. *Use the 1st letter of your nameto answer each of the following... *they have to be real places, names,things...nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person in frontof you had the same 1st initial. (WHICH BY THE WAY IS HARD IF YOU ALREADYREAD THEIR ANSWERS) You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl 1. What is your name? Jennifer 2. 4 letter word: Jump 3. Vehicle: Jeep 4. City: Joplin 5. Boy Name: Jack (if it’s a boy) 6. Girl Name: Jillian (if it’s a girl) 7. Alcoholic drink: Jack and Coke 8. Occupation: Janitor 9. Something you wear: Jacket 10. Celebrity: Jennifer Anniston 11. Food: Jello 12. Something found in a bathroom: Jewelry (if I leave it on the counter) 13. Reason for Being Late: Jumped (car jack...

.: (You really should read this first!) :. So...I have been sick all weekend. I have a cold - I know...it's just a cold, but it has kicked my butt!!! I have been down for most of the weekend. I love my mom living soo close!! She came and took care of me. Today while Greg and Allen went to Stake Conference, mom came over, made me soup, watched movies and played cards. I have to admit - I enjoyed this more than I think I would have if I would have attended Stake Conference (Am I going straight to hell for that??) But I have been up and running enough to do some decorating around my house. I have finally organized the book shelves in my entry way and hung some pictures. I got the boys' room painted Friday night (before the train hit me) and put up their S pider Man border. They had a blast hanging their own wall stickers. You can definitely tell by the height of where the stickers are placed which child placed them. :-) Cecily and the kids came over tonight and hung out. It is ...

So my daughter had her first orchestra concert. Here is the video. Bear in mind this is the BASICS !

OK I looked at the blog and realized that we never posted anything from Halloween. I know it is December...and I won't even tell you when I last blogged (mostly because it has been soo long I have no idea). But I thought I would blog tonight....I am feeling a bit ambitious - I don't have a Christmas tree up yet but I am blogging...that is something, right? :-) Halloween was a blast. We only had the boys (the girls were at Melissa's and they were missed!!) We went trick or treating around our neighborhood. And then invaded Mom and Allen's for a bit. It is certainly nice having them soo close! We took Riley with us - although at times I think he would have rather stayed home. I have been meaning to take a picture of me and my belly but so far this is the only one I have managed to get. This is me at 6 weeks pregnant. :-) Hee hee hee (at least I don't have to worry that people just think I am getting fat!!)